Two character play set in
Topaz
by Matthew Ivan Bennett. A production of the Plan-B Theatre Company of Salt Lake City, Utah,
Block 8
premiered on February 20, 2009, at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center's Studio Theatre. The play centers on Ken, a twenty-three year old
Nisei
from San Francisco who had been a student at the University of California at Berkeley prior to being forcibly removed with his family and incarcerated at Topaz, and Ada, a Mormon woman from Salt Lake City with a son fighting the Pacific who becomes the librarian at Topaz. Initially wary of each other, the two form a surrogate mother/son relationship as Ken struggles with the decision on whether or not to enlist.

Founded in 1991, the Plan-B Theatre Company specializes in original plays by Utah playwrights on "unique and socially conscious themes." Playwright Bennett had been the company's resident playwright since 2007 and director Jerry Rapier—who is of half-Japanese descent—had been producing director of the company since 2000. Bryan Kido, a young Utah actor with family connections to Topaz, played Ken and Anita Booher played Ada. When a collapsed lung left Kido unable to play the final week of performances, director Rapier filled in for him.
[1]

Reviewing
Block 8
for the
Salt Lake Tribune
, Barbara M. Bannon called it "beautifully written, poetic at times," but faulted it for having "little dramatic action."
Volition Mag
called it "a stirring and well written play."
[2]

After its initial run in 2009, the original cast did a reading of the play for the 2012 Day of Remembrance.

Learn more in the Densho Encyclopedia, a free on-line resource covering the key concepts, people, events, and organizations that played a role in the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.

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Teacher Guide

Learn more in the Densho Encyclopedia, a free on-line resource covering the key concepts, people, events, and organizations that played a role in the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.

This material is based upon work assisted by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

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The Resource Guide to Media on the Japanese American Removal and Incarceration is a free project of Densho. Our mission is to preserve the testimonies of Japanese Americans who were unjustly incarcerated during World War II before their memories are extinguished. We offer these irreplaceable firsthand accounts, coupled with historical images and teacher resources, to explore principles of democracy, and promote equal justice for all.